3 Possible Replacements If Jonas Hofmann Leaves Borussia Dortmund in January

With the opening of the transfer window just days away, Borussia Dortmund aren't expected to do too much business. The squad looks deep enough as it is, especially considering the Black and Yellows will welcome two players back from injuries that kept them out of action the entire first half of the season in Nuri Sahin and Erik Durm.

Dortmund are reportedly looking to sell a player or two in January, however. Besides Neven Subotic, whose situation we examined on the weekend, Jonas Hofmann seems the most eager to leave Signal Iduna Park in the winter.

Hofmann has been linked to a number of clubs for a while now, and we already predicted his sale early in December. According to numerous reports in recent days, Borussia Monchengladbach will be the 23-year-old's destination.

German magazine Kicker reported this week that Dortmund will ask for a fee of at least €7 million, while Achim Muller of local paper Westdeutsche Zeitung wrote about €4 million (links in German). 

At any rate, it stands to reason that Hofmann won't be a Dortmund player for long once the new year starts. 

With that in mind, here are three possible replacements—or, rather, two.

No Replacement at All

One could argue that Dortmund don't need to replace Hofmann at all. The midfielder is very much a fringe player, having played in 14 of Dortmund's 30 matches across all competitions, with nine starts.

Just four of those starts came in the Bundesliga, however, where he spent a grand total of eight minutes on the pitch between his two last starts against Leverkusen on September 23 and Cologne on December 19.

NORBERT SCHMIDT/Getty Images

In many ways, Hofmann and Manchester United loanee Adnan Januzaj have shared one spot in Dortmund's squad since the Belgian came to Dortmund on the last day of the summer window: The two have been on the pitch at the same time in just one game, a 2-1 victory over FC Krasnodar in the Europa League.

This option seems unlikely, however. For one, Januzaj has largely been a disappointment so far, as we highlighted in our grades for all new arrivals earlier in December, and Dortmund's decision-makers might deem it too risky to rely on his getting better with a training camp.

Secondly, depth will be very important because of what shapes up to be a very busy schedule for Dortmund in 2016. While Sahin's return could allow Gonzalo Castro to move to the wings on a more permanent basis, the injury proneness of Marco Reus could lead to BVB looking to replace Hofmann.

Oleksandr Zinchenko

Oleksandr Zinchenko is not a household name just yet, but he could well become one if he moves to Dortmund. A regular starter for Russia's FC Ufa despite turning only 19 in mid-December, the attacking midfielder has pace and technique and is left-footed, something Dortmund currently lack in their squad.

Zinchenko has already visited the Westfalenstadion, which might indicate strong interest from the Black and Yellows.

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Ukrainian talent Oleksandr Zinchenko BVB-bound? pic.twitter.com/foJXzI7vOE

— FutbolUkraine (@FutbolUkraine) December 11, 2015"

At any rate, this kind of a transfer looks like a logical deal for Dortmund. Rather than bringing someone in who would demand a lot of playing time right away, Zinchenko would be a signing with the future in mind. His potential can't be denied, considering the fact that he debuted for Ukraine as an 18-year-old in an important Euro 2016 qualifier against Spain in October. 

Tuchel could develop the versatile midfielder slowly and only play him in a pinch—or in what could be somewhat irrelevant games in the Bundesliga if Dortmund hold on to their big advantage over 4th place, which currently stands at nine points.

Andrija Zivkovic

We mentioned 19-year-old Andrija Zivkovic as a potential replacement for whenever Reus leaves Dortmund in October, and he seems like a perfect fit to take Hofmann's place. A pacy winger with a threat for goals, the Partizan product would feel right at home in Tuchel's side.

There is no shortage of suitors for the promising Serbian, however, as Bleacher Report's Tom Sunderland detailed in November.

Still, with Zivkovic apparently keen to move the Bundesliga and out of contract at Belgrade in the summer, it seems like a "now or never" situation for Dortmund.

Lars Pollmann is a featured columnist writing on Borussia Dortmund. He also writes for Yellowwallpod.com. You can follow him on Twitter.